The 2026 Trade Deadline is officially over, and the Vancouver Canucks did what everyone assumed they would and sold off assets. Vancouver made three trades, shipping out Conor Garland, Lukas Reichel, and David Kampf. In return, the Canucks secured multiple draft picks, including some for the 2026 Draft. After the deadline, the organization now has 10 picks in the 2026 NHL Draft. Vancouver has clearly sent a big message to their team.
Importance of the Upcoming Draft
With the 10 draft picks at their disposal in the 2026 Draft, the event is projected to be a massive day for the Canucks organization. Not only do they have a double-digit number of picks, but they also have four in the first two rounds, thanks to recent trades.
The extra first-rounder the Canucks have is from the Quinn Hughes trade, and the extra second-round pick is from the Kiefer Sherwood trade. Picks in those rounds have the potential to be franchise-altering, and the fact that Vancouver has four chances to draft in the first two rounds is great work by general manager (GM) Patrik Allvin. This upcoming draft looks to have a very good first round, and the second round will also produce some great NHL players once they are developed.
Once you get to the later rounds, finding diamonds in the rough becomes much harder. But the Canucks will have six picks in Rounds 3-7 to potentially find a player that can help their franchise. Lots of current NHL players have been drafted in the later rounds and gone on to become not just NHL players but stars. Kirill Kaprizov is a great example, drafted in the fifth round and is about to be the highest-paid player in the NHL. Not saying the Canucks will draft the next Kaprizov, but there is potential to find incredible players in these late rounds, and it is incredibly important to find talent late in the draft.
Allvin’s Recent Draft History
Allvin and his staff have had a great track record over his tenure in all rounds. They have had several hits over the past few years with players like Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Tom Willander in the first round. But their success doesn’t just include the opening round. Allvin and his scouting staff have been able to find very good players with late-round picks. In 2023, they drafted Sawyer Mynio, Ty Mueller, and Vilmer Alriksson with third and fourth-round picks. Mueller became a prominent role player on last season’s Abbotsford Canucks team that went on to win the Calder Cup. Mynio was selected to Canada’s 2025 World Junior team, and Alriksson has played this season fully with Abbotsford.
Related: 2026 NHL Draft: Forbes’ Top 64 February Rankings
2024 is when they really found some great late-round players. They first drafted Melvin Fernström and were eventually able to package him in a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins to get Marcus Pettersson. Then, in the fourth round, Vancouver took Riley Pattersson who they signed to an entry-level contract during the summer. After being traded from the Barrie Colts to the Niagara IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Pattersson currently has 36 goals and 77 points with the IceDogs, as the team has already secured a spot for the upcoming OHL Playoffs.
In that same draft, Vancouver selected Anthony Romani in the sixth round. As a freshman at Michigan State University, he has fit in like a glove with the Spartans and has so far scored 14 goals and 27 points in 34 games.
Even in the 2025 Draft, the Canucks were able to find good value with all of their picks. Their first-round pick, Braeden Cootes, has been one of the top players in the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season with 53 points in 41 games. He also helped Team Canada win a bronze medal at the 2026 World Juniors.
Second-round goaltender Aleksei Medvedev has already been signed to an NHL contract and has become the starter for the London Knights. Kieran Dervin, who was picked in the third round, is scoring at close to a point per game with the Kingston Frontenacs. Fifth-round pick Wilson Bjorck just won a gold medal with Sweden at the World Juniors. Sixth-round pick Gabe Chiarot signed his ELC this past summer, and seventh-round pick Matthew Lansing has 18 points in 36 games with the Quinnipiac Bobcats.
All six of the Canucks’ 2025 draft picks are heading in the right direction in their development. With 10 picks this upcoming June, Vancouver has a great chance to add another handful of great prospects to their already solid pool.
Drafting is not an exact science, but the Canucks have found a way to do very well in that category during Allvin’s tenure. They wanted to get draft picks because they believe they can make an impact with those selections. History has proven that they can draft well in not just the first round but the ones that follow. This draft is crucially important to the future of the Canucks, as the organization aims to usher in a new era of Vancouver hockey on June 26 and 27.
